Flyers 5, Blackhawks 2

Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) - Through two periods, the Philadelphia Flyers were doing almost everything right. The only problem: the score was tied.

In the final 10 minutes, all those scoring chances finally paid off for Philadelphia.

Mike Knuble scored on a deflection with 8:33 left in the third period to snap a tie, Mike Richards added an insurance goal about two minutes later and Branko Radivojevic scored into an empty net to give the Flyers a 5-2 victory over Chicago on Wednesday night.

The Flyers, who outshot the Blackhawks 31-14 for the game, had a 22-9 advantage in shots after two periods. Still, the game was tied 2-2 after 40 minutes.

"We looked after the second period and we said it would be a shame to lose this game with all the scoring chances we had," Philadelphia coach Ken Hitchcock said. "The best part of it was four of the goals were scored by people not on Peter (Forsberg's) line. I think that's a great sign for us."

Knuble, one of Forsberg's linemates, netted the game-winner. However, Forsberg, seventh in the league in scoring, didn't figure in the play or have a point on Wednesday.

At the edge of the crease, Knuble redirected Michal Handzus' shot from the left-wing boards past goalie Craig Anderson.

"That's my job, to be around the net," Knuble said. "Handzus made an extremely smart play there and I think he saw me coming around the side and just kept it on the ice."

Ben Eager and R.J. Umberger also scored for the Flyers, 9-1-1 in their last 11 games and 8-1-1 through the first 10 contests of a team-record 11-game road trip.

Knuble said his team rebounded well after suffering its lone regulation loss of the trip, 3-0 Monday night in New Jersey.

"We took a step back in New Jersey, a little bump in the road there, but we're not going to get too flustered about it," Knuble said. "I think we challenged ourselves a bit to make sure that guys are chipping in at different times."

The Flyers conclude the trip Thursday night in Detroit.

Radim Vrbata and Andy Hilbert scored for Chicago, which has lost 11 of 12. The Blackhawks broke a 10-game losing streak Tuesday at Washington.

"They're the number-one team in the league and have great players," Vrbata said of the Flyers. "We were tied 2-2 with them, but we made a couple of mistakes, they took advantage of them and it cost us the game."

Chicago coach Trent Yawney said turnovers again doomed his team.

"We turned over the puck too much," Yawney said. "Tonight it did come back to bite us. A team like that (Philadelphia) that lost its last game didn't want to lose two in a row. They're a good team and it's no surprise where they are in the standing."

Umberger gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead at 10:40. After going around the Chicago net, he fired from a rising sharp-angle shot that appeared struck Anderson and deflected in.

Hilbert tied it 2-all at 5:10 of the second period on a deflection, the Blackhawks' fourth shot of the game.

After Knuble's deflection game the Flyers a 3-2 lead with 8:33 left. Richards made it 4-2 following a turnover by Chicago's Jim Vandermeer.

Notes:. Chicago D Adrian Aucoin left the game with a groin pull and didn't return. ... Philadelphia D Chris Therien missed the game with a sore back. Philadelphia LW Donald Brashear sat out with a quad muscle strain. Both are day-to-day. ... Chicago RW Martin Lapointe played his 800th NHL game. Blackhawks LW Mark Bell played his 300th.